6 Easy Steps to Make an Up/Down Water Elevator in Minecraft

A user-friendly guide to creating a moving bubble elevator in Minecraft

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: August 19, 2024 Fact Checked

Do you need a faster way to travel up or down in Minecraft? You can easily create an automatic water elevator using Glass, water, Kelp, Soul Sand, and Magma. When done correctly, you'll be able to breathe underwater using the bubbles, so you don't have to worry about drowning. Soul Sand will make your elevator go up, while Magma will make it go down. This wikiHow will show you how to build a water elevator in Minecraft: Java or Bedrock edition.

Things You Should Know

You'll need Glass blocks, a bucket, Kelp, Soul Sand, and Magma to create an up or down water elevator.
Create an enclosure with four columns of Glass. Fill it with water, and then place Kelp to create source blocks.
Remove the Kelp and add a Soul Sand block (to go up) or Magma block (to go down) to create the elevator.

Steps

Download Article

1
Gather the materials. To create a water elevator, you must build columns of Glass to encase the water. Determine how high you want your elevator to be, and then multiply that number by four to find the number of Glass blocks you need.
- You will need:
  - Glass blocks: Obtained by smelting sand from deserts and beaches in a furnace^{[1]
    X
    Research source}.
  - Bucket: Obtained via crafting with three Iron Ingots in a V shape. Fill it with water from an ocean, river, or swamp.
  - Kelp: Found in the ocean.
  - Soul sand: found in Soul Sand Valleys in the Nether and ancient cities underground in the Overworld.
  - Magma block: Found in the Nether and in underwater ravines in the Overworld.
  - Bone meal (Optional): Crafted from bones. Bones can be obtained by killing skeletons or from certain structure chests.
2
Build the glass enclosure. Create four columns of glass as high as you'd like. They should be arranged in a rhombus shape, connected diagonally. Be sure to leave a block of space in the middle of the enclosure for the water and a two-block tall space for the elevator's entrance at the bottom.
- To stop the water from escaping, stand in the middle of the enclosure and place a door, or two signs, in the two-block tall space.
Advertisement
You can place the water in the elevator from the top block. It will flow down to fill the remaining space, but the blocks below will be flowing blocks, and you must turn the water into source blocks for the elevator to work. This can be done with kelp.
Starting from the very bottom of the elevator, place down kelp as you rise to the very top. You can also place kelp on the bottom block and bone meal it to fill the elevator. This will turn all the water blocks into source blocks. You'll also be able to breathe underwater with the help of the bubbles.
Return to the bottom of your elevator and open the door. Destroy the first kelp at the bottom. The rest of the kelp will break.
6
Place a soul sand block at the bottom. This will create an upwards bubble column.
- If you want players to descend with this elevator, place a magma block instead.
- You can now use the water elevator. This can help you move around much faster than stairs.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Is there a build limit because kelp can only grow 24 blocks high or is there a way around it?

OnAWindowSill

Community Answer

You don't have to use kelp: you can place a water source block on all the blocks, but that's slow. You can also place ice blocks all the way up, then break them with a pickaxe not enchanted with Silk Touch, and they'll all turn into water source blocks.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 8 Helpful 12
Question

How can you stop the magma from hurting you?

OnAWindowSill

Community Answer

You can't, unless you wear a pair of boots enchanted with Frost Walker. Without these, you will take damage at the bottom. Magma block damage is not considered fire damage, so Fire Protection and Fire Resistance will not help you.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 10 Helpful 9
Question

Is glass necessarily needed?

OnAWindowSill

Community Answer

You will need a block to contain the water. It can be any full, solid block; it doesn't have to be glass.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 14